St. Louis business leader Jerry Clinton dies

Jerry Clinton, a longtime St. Louis business leader and philanthropist, has died.

A spokeswoman for Clinton says he died Wednesday morning. He was 74 and had cancer.

Clinton was the former president and owner of Grey Eagle Distributors. He sold the company in 2005.

Clinton was instrumental in the effort to bring an expansion football team to St. Louis after the Cardinals left for Arizona in 1988. The effort was unsuccessful, though the Rams moved to St. Louis from Los Angeles in 1994.

Clinton was a major sponsor of the "Guns and Hoses" boxing event that pits firefighters and police. The event has raised millions of dollars over the past 25 years for fallen officers, firefighters and first responders and their families.